Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She picked it up
and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope
again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name
and address. She read the letter:

Dear Ruth:
I`m going to be in your  neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to
stop by for a visit.
Love Always,
Jesus

Her hands were shaking as  she placed the letter on the table. "Why would the Lord want to visit me?      I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer." With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.
"Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run
down to the store and buy something for dinner." She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents. Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least." She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, a   half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk...leave Ruth with grand total twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm. "Hey lady, can you help us, lady?" Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans; she hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.

"Look lady, I ain't got  a job, ya know, and my wife and I
have been living out  here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold
and we're getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could  help us. Lady, we'd
really appreciate it." Ruth looked at them both.    They were dirty, they
smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of
work if they really wanted to. "Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor
woman myself.  All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread and I’m having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him." "Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway.” The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley.

As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.

"Sir, wait!" The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after
them. "Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else
to serve my guest."  She handed the man her grocery bag.  

"Thank you lady. Thank you very much!" "Yes, thank you!"  It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering.

"You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this one?" Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street.

Without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.
"Thank you lady! Thank you very much!" Ruth was chilled by the time she
reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and
she   didn't have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for
the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her  mail box. "That's
odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day."

Dear Ruth:
It was so good to see you  again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus

The air was still cold, but  even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.
If you love Jesus, be ready to help at all time.